- Nate Diaz doesn’t think the UFC has a superstar who deserves to be his comeback opponent
- The 39-year-old revealed his favorite in-fight slaps
Nate Diaz wants to return to UFC for a title run but it’s only happening if there’s a superstar opponent available. He also picked the most memorable slap of his career.
Nobody deserves a fight with Nate
Speaking to Full Violence, Diaz opened up about a possible UFC return and another title run. However, the proud Stockton native is not convinced that there’s a big-name superstar worthy of a fight with him in the UFC at this point.
“Well, everybody’s boring right now, so I’m trying to do other sh*t for the moment. But like, I want to go back and get a UFC title,” Diaz said. “I don’t want to fight for nothing, you know? I want to fight for something… Right now, there’s nobody. Who’s the champion right now? At 170? See? That’s what I’m saying. Why would I go back to UFC right now to fight, who? Why would I do that? I’m the champion as far as that’s concerned.”
“It’s about buzz and who’s poppin’ and who’s doing something. Right now, there’s nobody doing sh*t in the UFC… Nobody. That’s why I’m not in there right now, you know what I’m saying? I’m watching. I’m hoping for something. … There’s no buzz, nobody’s doing sh*t. There’s nobody to fight, everybody is wack. Every single body in boxing and MMA,” he added.
For Diaz, he and his older brother Nick’s legacies have been underrated and for that, he just wants to continue fighting.
“The legacy? I don’t think about it as done. I think it’s underrated, and I think there’s like f**king, I think I left more of an impact than a lot of these f**king, anybody has, really. I mean, Conor has, in a way, and then you get like, my brother did, but all that sh*t gets forgotten about too. It can go away because you ain’t getting credit to begin with anyway. You might as well keep that sh*t going forever. That’s why I plan on fighting forever,” Diaz reflected.
Nate’s favorite slap of all time
Apart from his skills, Diaz has also become famous for savagely slapping his opponents during fights. When asked which is the most satisfying slap of his career, the UFC legend unsurprisingly mentioned Leon Edwards and Conor McGregor.
“I slapped a lot of those f**ckers up,” Diaz fondly said. “I liked when I slapped Leon Edwards, when I slap someone and then crack someone. I was like wack! Boom! Conor’s f**king a**, remember, I slapped him. When he was hitting me and running and sh*t. I smacked him. You just got slapped. That was funny.”
“A lot of times, it’s not intentional,” he later explained. “Sometimes, you’re getting out the way of my punch. I throw a hook, and you move your head back, and I just miss, so when I do that, I open my hand, just to be I’m like, ‘Got you mother**ker.”
Diaz last fought in the UFC in 2022 when he submitted Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Since leaving the UFC, the 39-year-old has gone 1-1 in boxing, having faced Jorge Masvidal and Jake Paul.
Watch Diaz’s full interview below:
